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List of Kitchen Utensils

Here is a list of kitchen utensils that you might find in a French home. Even if this is similar to how your kitchen is already equipped, I bet you can still find a new and unusual tool amongst these gadgets and utensils.

La Batterie de Cuisine - French Kitchenware

In France, the equipment that you find in the kitchen is known as la batterie de cuisine. The French will opt for quality over quantity in many situations, and French kitchenware is no different. Far better to have one high quality sharp knife that sings as you chop, then a drawer full of dull blades that you can't wait to put down.

Knives

Topping the list of kitchen utensils found in the French home is a large chef's knife and a
paring knife. These are the strict minimum. Most people also have a long serrated bread knife
and many people a sharpening steel. It is interesting to note that the French are terrific fans of Japanese cutlery which is prized for its precision and durability.

Some of the specialized knives and choppers that you will find in a better equipped French kitchen are:

Berceau (you may know this as a mezzaluna)

Cheese knife

Chestnut knife

French fry cutter

Mandolin

Meat cleaver

Oyster knife

Poultry scissors

Pots and Pans

Pots and pans are next on our list of kitchen utensils. Anti-adhesive pots and pans are very popular in
France these days. However, despite its convenience, this cookware is not very durable and many home chefs
favor other materials, including iron and copper. Popular French cookware brands are Le Creuset, Staub, and Mauviel (for copperware).
Staub cookware is treasured by chefs around the globe.

Other then the basic pots and skillets of different sizes (a minimum of three pots and two pans seems a strict minimum for anyone interested in cooking), some more specialized French kitchenware might be:

Wooden spoons (How could you even think of cooking without one of these on hand?)

Whisks

Zester

Baking Equipment

Baking equipment is on most French people's list of kitchen utensils they can't do without. Baking pans
will include cake pans, at least one tart pan (with fluted edges), and baking sheets as well as spring form pans
and jelly roll pans, and perhaps a French bread pan.

Many people's cupboards also boast a madeleine pan
or other specially shaped French cookware for making such treats as canneles, brioches, charlottes, tartlettes, and kugelhopf.

The French make some truly elegant au gratin dishes that look so great on the table you find yourself looking for things to bake in them. Kitchens are also likely to have a roasting pan, a souffle dish a tajine and French onion soup bowls on hand. Other baking equipment includes:

Cooling racks

French rolling pin

Icing bag and tips

Measuring cups (Typically a French kitchen will have a Pyrex measuring cup that gives the weights of various volumes of ingredients - in liters of course.)

Measuring spoons

Pastry board

Scale

Sieve or sifter

Petit Electroménager

The French are big fans of small kitchen appliances. Some popular marks of French kitchenware are Phillips,
Moulinex, Cuisinart, and Braun. You can certainly make do without any of these items on your list of kitchen utensils, but you might also find something you fall in love with.

E. Dehillerin

If you're ever in Paris and you like to cook, you really ought to check out E. Dehillerin. It is no-glitz cookware shop stuffed to the gills with all sorts of cooking tools, knives, bakeware and gadgets. A great place to stumble on hard to find items on your personal list of kitchen utensils.

It's located in the first arrondissement in the heart of Paris. You can peek in the window here: E. Dehillerin. Have fun!